This is me at my 3rd birthday. I am so sick of people saying Zach looks exactly like his dad! He looks like me!!!!!!! I know it's blurry, but for those of you who know Zach, I hope you see what I see. We were looking through old pictures at my Nana's yesterday and I came across so many great ones. She even saved a drawing that I had done who knows when. I even spelled "from" wrong :)

Buggy!

Andy arrived today! I was so relieved to see him! It's been pretty hard being a single mom this week. I have always had respect for single parents, but now it is two-fold. The weather has finally turned around and we had a beautiful day today. Andy and Zach were able to play outside and we headed to the beach this evening. We went to Hampton and I really wanted to eat pizza, walk on the sand and have our picture taken in one of those black and white booths. We did all of the above however they didn't all work out exactly as I had imagined! We took the pictures but all we have is Zach's eyes! The rest of his face was cut out! We walked on the sand, but if we sat for more than a minute we were attacked by these tiny fly things. We did spend some time on the boardwalk and were even there for the sand castle contest. I can't believe what people can do with sand. Good news is the pizza was great and Zach really enjoyed playing in the sand and eating it off of his hands! I don't think Ava had very much fun but I'm sure she will like it a lot better next summer. I didn't even get a picture of her on her first trip to the beach. What a horrible mother I am!!!

Geez!

So, here were are in NH! We love visiting but so do viruses. Zach has had diarrhea on and off since Wednesday and now we are worried he is getting dehydrated. He also vomited twice in the last few days. A first for both. He has never had much more than ear infections and teething. It figures that this has to happen the week that we are without Andy. Ava is not feeling well either. She poops with every meal and then some. I called nurse advice and they said to just feed her on demand and make sure he stays hydrated. Too bad he hates the pedialyte. We were supposed to do something fun today, but with everyone sick it looks like we are sticking close to home. I have to wonder if we all have salmonella. We did eat pizza at CPK before flying out on Monday.
On a happier note, we had Ava's welcome party last night. A bunch of our friends and family came to my parents house to celebrate her arrival. It was a great night and it is so nice to be able to see everyone. It's really hard to see everyone in the short time that we visit so having a party is the best way to do it.
I'll end my entry on a funny note. At about 4:30 a.m. I was burping Ava after nursing and she sneezed. Zach is also in our room in a crib while we are here and from his crib I hear "bes you". That's bless you in Zach language! He is so funny! I thought he was sleeping. Then a bit later I sneezed and I hear "bes you" again from his crib. It's so funny that my little horrible sleeper was just laying in his bed awake and not complaining. Could this be the start of something new?!

We Made It!

The flight to New Hampshire was successful and meltdown free! We actually had two sleeping babies for the most part. Waking Zach up at 2 am CA time was not much fun though. You can't really explain to a 21 month old that it is time to get off the plane. He just didn't care! He's not very good with mornings as it is :) Ava slept the entire way minus one midnight feeding. Now we are in NH and having a great time visiting with family and friends. More on that later.

Ava's nursery! She finally has a crib and she's really happy about it!

Enjoyable!

We had a wonderful Father's Day today. Both of the babies were very enjoyable and in good moods for most of the day! Ava gave Andy a ton of smiles and coos today to tell him just how happy she is to have him as a daddy. We made the cutest gift for him and the kids did their part very nicely. Their footprints are just too cute! My mother is still here so she helped with the project. We also went to dinner and both kids were great! Ava was awake the whole time and just looked around. Zach didn't misbehave one bit either. Wow! I wonder if they are just saving it all up for the flight tomorrow night!

Time Consuming!

This week has been very busy and a lot of fun also. My mother came in on Saturday to watch Ava while I went to work this week. The weekend was relaxing except for the horrible choking incident. On Sunday we were eating dinner when all of a sudden Mr. Zach was not breathing! We had just put his food down and were getting our plates together to sit down to eat. He looked at me with a look of panic and all three adults in the room went into panic mode! Mom and Andy were trying to get him out of his seat that he was buckled into. Someone managed to get one buckle undone but left the other one done up. Then someone tried to pull him from the chair anyway. He was stuck and still choking. I freaked and told them to move. I got him out, threw him upside down and slammed on his back to get the food out. It didn't work so I kept him upside down and stuck my finger down his throat. He started to gag then he started to breath! Oh, thank GOD! He was so upset that he was screaming his heart out. It was a scary experience for everyone involved and I think I shook for about 10 minutes afterwards. We still don't know if it was broccoli or turkey burger that he choked on because the dogs were there before we could see. Gotta love the walking vacuums!
I also went to work for a few days while Ava stayed home with Nannie. Nannie said she was a wonderful baby and no trouble at all. Ava is really turning into a lovely little baby. If she is fed, in a clean diaper and doesn't have gas, then she is happy. It's funny because her brother to this day will still sit in poop, but she complains about it almost as soon as it happens. She also had her two month appointment. 5 shots! It was horrible but I managed to hold back the tears this time around. I felt so bad for her but, as soon as they were over, she was fine. Just had a tired evening but didn't complain. She also now weighs 11 lbs 5 oz and is 23.25 inches long. 75% all around.
On Thursday night we took the family to the Farmer's Market in Redlands. We ate, walked around and bought stuff. Zach also saw two of his daycare friends. I think it was weird for him to see them outside of daycare. He was so excited and it bought us a little more time to look around.
All in all it has been a good week. The choking incident put a damper on it, but there was a good outcome and I realized that my mommy instincts are working. Next week we are off to NH to see the family! I can't wait! Well, minus the flying with two babies part. I'll let you know how that goes :)

Zach's new trick!

funny!

Zach has decided that he is going to be a tattletale! It started as a funny little thing that we do when he gets upset with Daddy. He used to come in the room and just ramble on and cry if Andy upset him (he does things like saying no to a bottle in the middle of the day and other silly things that a toddler just can't handle). When he does this I say "what did Daddy do?" and he used to just ramble on. Now he walks in the room or comes up to me and says "what do dada?" when he is mad at Daddy! It is totally hilarious. It also helps with the miscommunications and he feels better that he was able to tell me with words. He has also become a joker. He says "thank you, dada" whenever I give him something. Then I say "thank you, mommy" and he says dada again then giggles! He knows what he is doing for sure. Eventually he will grin and say "thank you, ommy" (he drops off the "m" and it is totally cute.)
I also went back to work today. It wasn't totally bad besides one of my great friends, who always tells me to do what feels right for me and my family, thinking that I need a parenting intervention (you know who you are, LOL!) Aside from that, I only missed one of Ava's feedings and she had a great day at home with Daddy.

Does this look like the face of a devil? Maybe if the hair was in horns instead of a mohawk! I had to post this to remind myself that I really do love my son and being a mom. We all just have those days :)

This is how I felt this morning! It was my first outing with both kids that didn't require a stroller! I decided that I was ready to take the kids to MyGym. The morning started out nice. Zach woke up around 6 and was in a pretty good mood. We were actually dressed, fed and ready to leave the house at 8:30! Score one for mom! We got to MyGym a little early so we drove around instead of making Zach wait in the lobby area. I was trying to prevent meltdowns! Either of the child or Mommy type. As we walk in he is unusually shy. He doesn't want to leave me for about five minutes. Then he starts to explore and all is good. I chase him around while Ava is in the carrier and I think to myself, Wow, I am doing it! I'm a big girl now! Then the swings come out! I know he loves to swing but I also know they are meltdown inducing when his time is up. As we are finishing our turn I start to "redirect" to other activities to make them sound like fun. Ooh, the ball, ooh lets go jump, etc. He keeps saying, in typical toddler fashion, "NO"! After hogging the swing for a while I just remove him. I can't have a battle of wills with a 20 month old, I am the MOM! He throws himself on the ground and proceeds to throw the biggest fit I have ever seen him throw in a public place! It was never ending! He was throwing himself on the ground, screaming, crying, pulling on me to go back in the swing. When another child got his turn it got even worse! You would have thought he was dying! Finally I pick him up (mind you I also have Ava in the front carrier this whole time) and he starts flailing all around. I can hardly get him on my hip. I carry both babies into the bathroom and tell him he needs some cool down time. He fools me into thinking he is fine. We walk out and he sees another swing and starts all over again! I won't be one of those mothers that allows this. It's not fair to anyone else involved. So, we leave! He is fine while putting on our shoes then he decides that the parking lot is the place to throw himself on the ground. I have him by one arm and I am trying to get him into his car seat as he is screaming "NO". Finally I have success. The seat has a calming effect and I give him his binkie (yup, he will have it until he goes off to college, I don't need judging thank you). Then I bring him to daycare and tell them that Andy will be picking him up because I just don't want to!

HAHAHAHA!

36E, that is all I have to say!

Nice!

We had a wonderful weekend! Our friends came to visit from Ventura County with their two children. The house is small, but we managed to have a wonderful time anyway. We try to see Jeff and Kim about twice a year because it's not very easy to get together more than that. The kids are getting so big, they are now 4 and 5 and going to school next year! When I met them they had just had Maddy and just found out they were pregnant with Gavin! Irish twins born in the same year! One in January, the other in December! I thought I had it tough! I couldn't even imagine doing that! Zach wouldn't have even been walking yet if I had done that. They got here on Friday and we all stayed up way to late for parents! I think it was the latest since before I found out I was pregnant with Ava, if you don't count the sleepless nights in the hospital. We just had a great time and were even able to relax with four kids in the house, if you can believe that.
On a different note, Andy and I had the third baby discussion again last night. For the first time ever he showed that it may be an option! I'm not sure if I want a third for sure but I don't want it to not even be an option. Who knows, we haven't been very good lately, maybe we will get our Irish Twins too. Oh, I really hope not! I couldn't imagine having 3 under 3. If we do decide to have a third then we wouldn't start trying again until Zach is almost 3. I would love another Spring baby. It's perfect for my work schedule too. If we do go for the third, then I have to get my tubes tied. That was a big part of the conversation and very important to him, LOL! He's such a man! Doesn't want any more kids but doesn't really want to get snipped either! He will if we have no more kids though. I am just happy that it's not completely off the table.